The Christ Child

Scripture: And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." (Luke 1:8-12)

And so began the humble beginnings of our Lord, Jesus Christ. It never ceases to amaze me how God chose to come into the world wrapped up in a tiny, defenseless baby Who would have to rely on His mother for all of his human needs for the first few years of His life. God. Who spoke life and light into existence, Who has no beginning and no end; omniscient, powerful, almighty God ... was once a tiny little baby who had to be cared for like any other infant. Wow!

It also gives me pause to wonder: was Jesus always aware of Who he was? At 6, did He know He had come into this world as Savior? Did this knowledge come to Him later? Did He ever feel the weight of the responsibility? Did Mary ever have to tell Him "no" when he tried to touch the cooking fire? Or did He already know it was hot? Was He a typical 2 year old Who said "no" and "mine" as He exerted His independence? But He was Jesus - did He bypass that stage?

Mary must have felt honored to raise Jesus; but did she ever worry about "messing up" as a mom? Can you imagine raising the Son of God, and Who you would be accountable to?

I realize these are rhetorical questions, and God had everything planned from the beginning from Who would raise to Jesus to how He would ultimately die and rise again. But in our human capacity, you have to admit, it is a fun brain twister to ponder the life of Christ, especially since nothing is spoken of His formative years.

I also marvel at the fact that shepherds and the magi were led to go see the Babe and pay Him homage, for they knew Who this baby was, and the prophecies He would fulfill. Again, I can't help but ponder ... can you imagine coming into the world and everyone knowing your destiny even before you were aware that you had one yourself?

Beyond all our musings and reflecting, there is only One Messiah, Christ, Savior. And I thank God the Father for limiting Himself in order to come into this world neatly packaged as a tiny little human baby to rescue us through His birth, death and resurrection. Oh how He loves us ...

Merry Christmas everyone. May you feel the warmth of His love and comfort as we all celebrate Jesus' birth; Christ the Savior.

Prayer: Father, we do thank You for showing us how much You love us through Your Son, Jesus, Who was fully God and fully man. And although we can never completely wrap our brains around that, it was because You loved us so much You sent down a Savior. Mere words cannot express our gratitude. May we all reflect upon the true meaning of Christmas as the world tries to pull us away from it's focus.

Prayer request: Lord, in all the hustle and bustle of the season, let us not forget why we are celebrating, and more importantly, WHO we are celebrating. Amen